# Five new judges named for Disrupt 2026 Battlefield

> TechCrunch announces the next wave of venture capitalists who will evaluate startups competing at its flagship October event in San Francisco.
- Title: Five new judges named for Disrupt 2026 Battlefield | Shortify
- Summary: TechCrunch announces the next wave of venture capitalists who will evaluate startups competing at its flagship October event in San Francisco. TechCrunch has…
- Keywords: techcrunch disrupt, startup battlefield, venture capital, san francisco, caleb appleton, sara deshpande, aatish nayak, jason risch, mark xu, bison ventures, maven ventures, kleiner perkins
- Source: TechCrunch — https://techcrunch.com/2026/09/28/next-five-vcs-judging-startup-battlefield-200-contenders-at-techcrunch-disrupt-2026
- Author: TechCrunch Events
- Published: 2026-09-28T14:30:00+00:00
- Read time: 2 min
- Topics: techcrunch disrupt, startup battlefield, venture capital, san francisco, caleb appleton, sara deshpande, aatish nayak, jason risch, mark xu, bison ventures, maven ventures, kleiner perkins
## Two hundred startups gather in weeks
Startup Battlefield 200 is nearly here. Two hundred carefully selected startups will gather at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 to exhibit, meet investors, and compete for one of the most coveted opportunities in the startup world.
## Judges will decide who advances
Only a select group will advance to live competition, where they pitch in front of thousands of founders, investors, media, and customers. Judges will face questions from some of the sharpest minds in technology.
## Caleb Appleton joins from Bison Ventures
Caleb Appleton is a partner at Bison Ventures, where he invests in physical AI across techbio, robotics, and real-world intelligence. A biomedical engineer by training, his investments include Cobot, Vivodyne, Passkey, Sleuth, Inner Logic, Cosmon, and Grid Aero.
## Sara Deshpande brings Maven expertise
Sara Deshpande is a general partner at Maven Ventures, where she invests in seed-stage companies built around emerging consumer behaviors and trends. She focuses on consumer software spanning digital health and consumer applications of A I.
## Aatish Nayak joins Kleiner Perkins
Aatish Nayak joined Kleiner Perkins as a partner in May 2026, where he focuses on partnering with A I native founders with deep vertical expertise across all domains. He was previously the first P M and V P of Product at Harvey.
## Jason Risch brings Greylock focus
Jason Risch is a partner at Greylock, where he invests in enterprise security, A I and M L infrastructure, data platforms, and developer tools. His portfolio includes Onehouse, a cloud-native managed lakehouse platform, and Baseten, an M L model serving toolkit.
## Mark Xu rounds out Index Ventures
Mark Xu is a partner at Index Ventures, where he invests across stages in cybersecurity, infrastructure, and A I. He has backed companies building at the frontier of A I, including Fireworks, Parallel, seven A I, Simile, and Flapping Airplanes.
## Finals judges and prize still to come
Twenty judges have been revealed so far. Five more judges will be announced to evaluate the finalists and determine who takes home the one hundred thousand dollar equity-free prize and coveted Disrupt Cup.
## Disrupt 2026 opens October 13
TechCrunch Disrupt 2026 is happening October thirteen to fifteen at San Francisco's Moscone West, bringing ten thousand plus tech leaders, V C s, and founders together to meet the next generation of breakout startups.
## Key takeaway

TechCrunch has named five venture capital partners to judge Startup Battlefield 200 at Disrupt 2026, held October thirteen to fifteen in San Francisco.